Lance's Birthday Surprise
by smolus-adorabilis
Summary: The Blue Paladin misses his family, this no one can deny. The People who love Lance decide to do something to cheer him up, first each in their own way until the Big Day! A Polydin fic in which Pidge is aged up to 18 and Lotor is a good guy! In Honor of Lance Week!
1. Keith

Keith tends to be both the shyest member and yet also the most adorable when it comes to interacting with Lance. For Keith is both madly in love and insanely shy about it. Though from time to time his shyness fades and he and Lance are able to spend some tender time together. Today for example, is one of those days.

Shiro was out with Pidge since it was her turn to get alone time with their ever loving Space Dad, and Hunk was still trying to figure out Altean baking with Allura and Coran's help. Which meant Keith got to have Lance all to himself. The thought both excited and embarrassed him. Lance could be such a hot head at times, and he sure did love to hear himself talk, but in Keith's mind that just made him look rather adorable.

Lance has still not let anyone forget how he was able to shoot Slav out of that Galra's hand with a single shot. In fact, that was the story he was currently telling, again.

"Man, I still can't believe how awesome I was, well, I mean I can 'cause," he snorts "Its me. But still!" she grinned at Keith who was rolling his eyes, a smirk resting on his face.

"Man I...I wish I could tell my family about this." Lance's eyes finally turned downcast, something that did not happen often.

"My mom, she was always my biggest fan, when I told her I wanted to be a fighter pilot she didn't even hesitate to support me….I miss her…" Keith felt a pang in his heart. While Lance tended to come off as arrogant and flirtatious, he really was very self conscious, and it sounds like his family was his biggest source of love in that department. Keith could only imagine how much Lance must miss them, well, ok, he kind of understood and kind of not. Lance would see his family again one day, Keith...

The red Paladin shook his head from that train of thought. He wanted to do something for Lance, especially with his birthday coming up this week.

"You know, for my birthday they used to all get together and mom would make this huge cake! My sisters always pushed my face into it.." he chuckled as he rest his head on Keith's shoulder.

"This is gonna be...my first birthday without them…" Keith felt the hot tears on his shoulder. He wrapped one arm around Lance letting the blue paladin hide his face in his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a long while, allowing Lance to cry on him as much as he wanted. Keith wanted more then anything to do something, anything to take this pain away, he knew the ache all too well. The feeling of knowing that your family wouldn't be there for your birthday and how much it hurt.

Later that night Keith lay awake his heart aching for his lover. What could he do? He closed his eyes and thought long and hard.

Then it hit him. The perfect thing! Yes that! That would be perfect!

Keith jumped out of bed and sped down the hall to the Princess's room.

"Allura! Allura!" the red paladin banged on the door desperately.

The door slid open revealing a half asleep altean princess who looked mildly confused.

"Keith? What's wrong? Are we under attack?" Keith shook his head but grabbed her by the shoulders looking her in the eyes.

"I need your help!" Keith's eyes were filled with determination as he explained his plan. The princess was surprised by the request but not opposed to it.

"It will take exactly one earth week to do it, so it will be right on time if all goes well." she smiled as their plan came together.

"You'll want to coordinate with the other paladins on it because he can't come into the control room while Coran and I work on this."

"I'll talk to the others I know they'd be on board with this, just please make it happen."

"You have my word as the Princess of Altea, if it can be done we will make it happen!"

The two clasped hands with giant grins on their faces before Keith took off to go fill in Pidge then Hunk and Shiro in turn.

This was it! Something he could do for Lance!


	2. Shiro

The next day Lance woke still in a depression from the day before. He couldn't stop thinking about, and in equal measure dreading, his birthday. Everyone back home used to let him sleep in all he wanted no matter what day his birthday fell on, if it was a school day his mom would call him out sick. His heart ached at the thought of his mother, his sisters and cousins.

He hid his face in his pillow as the pain wracked his heart, he really was a mama's boy he almost felt pathetic. But his mom had always been there for him, always been by his side and supported him. Now she was just gone. He bit his lip as he started to cry into his pillow.

Later that day he made his way to the bridge but was intercepted by their fearless leader Shiro.  
"Hey Lance!... Are you ok? You don't look so good" he touched the blue paladin's cheek gently, looking over his face.  
"I'm fine Shiro just a little tired.." Lance blushed a little at Shiro's sudden tenderness. Suddenly some loud sounds came from the command room.

"What's going on in there-"

"Hey Lance, let's relax a while, if you're tired I'll spend the day with you ok?" Shiro lead him away from the room quickly, wrapping his arm around the smaller man. Lance raised an eyebrow as the black paladin smiled nervously.

"Come on, I could use a rest too, let's go to the pool, I heard Allura fixed the gravity in there so it's normal for us now" he pulled Lance along who seemed confused but went along with whatever Shiro wanted.

"Who am I to say no to Daddy?" Lance grinned playfully earning him a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek from Shiro.

"Good boy, come on" he grinned as the two made their way to their rooms for their swim shorts.

"Is he gone?" Keith spoke into his headset nervously.

"You're clear Shiro intercepted him and took him to the pool. We've lost Shiro for help today though he's gonna need to distract Lance from coming in." Pidge replied as Keith made his way down the hall with some equipment from the space mall.

"Well we lost Dad but we can manage, almost no one distracts as well as a space dad" Pidge chuckles definitely more or less referring to Shiro's ass.

"Perv, just keep an eye on Lance" Keith rolled his eyes.

"Oh don't worry, I am" she had a full view of both Lance and Shiro at the pool and she was LOVING it.

"My god you pervert." Keith sighed but smiled despite himself.

"Fight me."

"Cannon baaalll!" Lance exclaimed as he jumped into the pool, causing a huge splash. Shiro chuckled and splashed Lance as he came up.

"Top that!" the blue paladin challenged his space dad who smirked in return.

"You asked for it!" Shiro swam to the edge to get out. Just as he was about to jump in Lance absolutely cheated and called out.

"OH SHIT PIDGE IS STREAKING!"

"WHAT!?" Shiro whirled around to get into dad mode only to slip and fall flat on his back into the pool. When he came up he was less than pleased with his son's actions.

"Oh Laaa-aance" Shiro smirked looking annoyed as he lunged for his son. Lance was beyond gone as he swam for his life to avoid the wrath of space dad. Unfortunately Shiro was a much stronger swimmer than the lanky blue paladin and caught up quick, catching the smaller man by his pants and pulling him under.

When they came up he had Lance in a soft but firm head-lock and was giving him a rather painful head nuggie.

"This is what you get for shameless cheating!" Shiro laughed as Lance squirmed.

Pidge had physically hit her face against the wall when she heard what Lance used to fool Shiro.

"Keith remind me to fucking kill Lance after this"

There was a round of audible and over dramatic gasps when Pidge swore making her plant her head in the wall again.

"I FUCKING HATE YOU GUYS."

Another round of over dramatic gasps and laughing as pidge chased her siblings down for making fun of her.

On their way back from the pool, both men were sore from the wrestling.

"Ugh ok ok I'm sorry for shamelessly abusing my sister, happy?" Lance groaned as Shiro smacked his back firmly.

"Yes, very" he laughed before rubbing his son's back tenderly.

"Let's head back to my room for a shower and maybe a little something else?" Lance perked up at that and followed his Space dad MUCH more eagerly with the promise of fun times ahead.


	3. Hunk

After a VERY eventful night definitely not sleeping a wink thanks to Shiro, Lance was making his way to the kitchen hoping for something to help him sleep. He found Hunk there, surprise surprise.

"Hey Hunk" the blue paladin yawned deeply. "What's for breakfast?" he asked looking like he might fall over.

"Whoa Lance, what happened, you look like you just went 3 rounds with Shiro in the training room."

"Interesting choice of words, I did go a few rounds with Shiro, but not in the training room" Lance made finger guns and Hunk who MAJORLY rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Don't make me hit you" Hunk threatened making Lance chuckle.

"But seriously, I need something to put me to sleep" he said looking tired again.

"Shiro kept me up all night" he yawned again before sitting down at the table.

"Well, I do have some food here you could try, I was able to buy some ingredients recently that are just like some stuff we have on earth" he placed a few small dishes in front of the tired man.

"Taste a few, tell me which ones are your favorite." Hunk smiled as Lance tried one that was supposed to be Nachos.

"Oh hey this isn't bad, it's not nachos but it's tasty!" he exclaimed taking another bite.

"This one is supposed to be garlic knots, this one should be a chilly cheese dog and that one is something like a polish stew" he pointed to each dish in turn.

"Man Hunk you picked all my favorite foods!" Lance grinned, totally dense to the fact that maybe that was on purpose.

"Haha yeah, funny coincidence right?" Hunk was visibly nervous but Lance being well, Lance, was totally dense to anything Hunk was or was not planning.

After the "Nachos" he went for the chili dog. He took a nice big bite, slowly chewing and tasting. After a moment he grinned excitedly.

"This is like, BETTER than a chili dog! It's like a chili dog 3.0!" the blue paladin devoured the dog eagerly,

"Aw man! You're a culinary genius Hunk!" he pulled the bigger paladin down to kiss him making the bashful yellow paladin blush deeply.

"I uh...thanks" he smiled shyly and scratched the back of his head. Lance was already throwing a few of the "Garlic" knots in his mouth but quickly coughed and spit them out.

"Ugh oh shit sorry but I think- cough cough - there's too much garlic" Lance coughed as the sheer amount of garlic caught him off guard.

"Here here have some water!" Hunk rushed to get his love a drink, handing him a bag of water.

"Sorry about that, the...herb? I guess? Is a little stronger then garlic, I'll remember that for next time" he nods at Lance, pushing the "Polish Stew" to him.

"Is there any of that garlic herb in this?" the blue paladin looked at him, now unsure.

"No no, just try it" Hunk said before moving to check on what was in the oven. Lance eyed the bowl suspiciously for a good while before grabbing the spoon and taking a taste. At first, he was just plain shocked, but after a moment he felt his heart ache.

"Hunk this…" he hesitated.

"What? Is it bad?" but Lance shook his head.

"It tastes like my mom's….like my mom made it…." he looked into the stew sadly, another wave of depression hitting him. Hunk paused his work, watching for a long moment before turning off the oven and moving to sit next to Lance in case he needed anything.

"I miss my family Hunk" he said finally, "I miss them so much it hurts, I just want so badly to go home…" Lance finally landed on Hunk who wrapped his arms around the smaller male warmly.  
"I know buddy...I know…" he held Lance tight, letting him cry if he needed to as he rubbed the smaller male's back.

"I miss my family too, I wish I could take this pain away from you" Hunk said softly as he and Lance shared a tender kiss.

"Can I stay here a little longer?"

"Of course, stay as long as you want" the yellow paladin indeed held Lance as long as he wanted before some soft snoring was heard. Hunk chuckled as he picked up the sleeping man and carried him to his room.

"Sleep well sweet prince" Hunk kissed Lance's temple tenderly before tucking him in and heading back to the cake in the oven.


	4. Pidge

Lance woke up the next night, his head still kind of a mess. Seems he wasn't going to shake his depression this week. He sighed deeply and rolled over numbly. Thoughts drifted in and out of his head, his mom, his mission. The two made him feel torn and hurt and just tired all over. With a small bit of resignation Lance got up, putting his casual clothes on before heading out.

He first checked the kitchen, to see if Hunk was there but found the facility empty and barren of Hunk's warm food and warm hugs. He moved on to the Training Deck, hoping to find Keith or Shiro but no such luck.

Finally, he found himself in the hangar where Pidge was luckily wide awake and typing away at her computer.

"Hey Pidge, could we-"

"HOLY FUCK LANCE"

Pidge slammed her computer closed looking like he'd scared the living daylights out of her.

"Don't fucking sneak up on me like that!" She cursed at him.

Lance couldn't help but crack a smile before feigning and overdramatic gasp.

"Language young lady!" he teased making Pidge spit her tongue out at him.

"Bite me!"

"Well if you insist!" Lance grinned at her mischievously before getting his face pushed away by a very annoyed green paladin.

"What are you doing up? It's the middle of...I think the night?"

"I was up all night last night thanks to Dad, and Hunk fed me well yesterday and I fell asleep, I'm only just now getting up again." He shrugged.

"Everyone else is asleep and I'm bored, wanna hang out?" He asked taking a seat next to his pseudo sister.

"Uh...Sure, uh…" Pidge seemed not really surprised but unsure of what to do.

"Let me finish a...a thing and meet me in my room, I was able to fashion a TV for us to finally play our game on!" She grinned. She'd actually wanted to save that for his birthday, but she couldn't let Lance find out about what was going on, so it was a sacrifice she'd have to make.

Lance looked excited, both for the game and for the distraction from his depression.

"I'll head to the kitchen and grab some snacks then head to your room ok?" Lance got up and waved as he left the room.

Pidge sighed in relief as the door closed behind him. Then panicked in realization: The cake!

A few panicked moments later Pidge got Coran to intercept Lance in the kitchen and guide Lance to the left overs from yesterday. Once she got an all clear from the Space Uncle she went back to work on her "thing" before joining Lance in her room.

"Ah man! This is awesome, how'd you do this ya' tiny genius?" the blue paladin ruffled the small woman's hair.

"Aw Lance, it was just a matter of-" she went into her scientific babbling. Normally Lance would interrupt but she was just so cute when she talked about stuff like this. She gets so excited and passionate and it's just too damn adorable.

"Oh my god Pidge!" Lance suddenly gasped when she got a little too far.

"Oh, sorry did I babble?" She blushed self consciously before:

"No worse….You're adorable." this earned the paladin a very shy smack to the face from a very tiny bashful and now upset green paladin. Worth it.

"If you're done being a butt," Pidge sighed after swatting her pseudo brother a few times,

"It's time!" she grinned as she turned the TV on. As the intro to the game both paladins loved so much played, Lance cheered and took his place as player two.

The two paladins battled evil monsters and journeyed through distant lands for a good couple of hours before everyone else started waking up. They were working on the 5th boss when Space Dad came in.

"Pidge? Have you slept yet? Lance?" he looked concerned for the two who now had circles under their eyes and were currently staring at the screen like zombies.

"Nope, Games" Pidge's answer was short and curt because of her concentration on beating the boss.

"5th boss, kicking our ass" Lance answered just as robotically. Shiro looked at his two pseudo children in a very dissapointed fashion before covering his face with his palm. He looked over at the power cord to the Tv and not-so-subtly unplugged in.

"NO! DAD WHY WE WERE SO CLOSE!" both 'kids' shouted in unison only to go silent as they came face to face with an unhappy space dad.

"Pidge. Bed. Now." Shiro's voice left no room for argument as Pidge got up to go shower and get ready for bed. Lance was pulled out by his arm and dragged into his room.

"You too Lance, go to bed." Shiro let the door close between them before sighing.

"Children"


	5. Lotor

The next day Lance had even more bile in his stomach then before. It was the day before his birthday and the mix of dread and depression for the day to come was killing him. He played it off like nothing was wrong but there was an Ally visiting the ship that knew better, Prince Lotor could spot family issues a mile away. Not because he had any himself of course, he would try to tell himself as he approached the blue paladin when he was alone.

"So, what's wrong?" Lotor leaned on the wall next to Lance with a 'I know something is wrong so spill it' look on his face.

"I...Uh….How could you tell something was wrong…?" Lance asked skeptically.

"Please Paladin, I am the KING of family drama" he paused "Never repeat that to anyone or so help me I will gut you" the prince threatens with a slight blush on his face.

Lance snorted and laughed.

"Oh don't worry I won't tell anyone" he grinned, Lance was pretty sure if Lotor was asking him to keep quiet everyone was already well aware of whatever he thought was a secret.

"My birthday is tomorrow" he said finally, Lotor gave the paladin an odd look.

"And that's a bad thing? Honey I thank the stars every day you fell into my life" he winked at his companion before moving to wrap one arm around him gently.

"But that's not what's wrong is it?" Lance shakes his head.

"Well...On my birthday my family usually throws a huge party, and my mom…" he chokes up at the mention of his mother.

"My mom was always there for me, and she was always my biggest supporter and she always baked a cake from scratch just for me….This is my first birthday without her…" he covers his face as he tears up.

"This must sound so pathetic."

"No….No not one bit" Lotor tightens his grip and pulls Lance into a hug.

"I know...how much it can hurt when...your family isn't there for your birthday.." he says simply as he pets the paladins head.

"It's not pathetic to miss them, to want them to be here, I can...I can empathize with how much you must miss your mother, you sound like you really love her."

"Yeah…" Lance's voice broke again as he hid his face in the prince's shoulder.

Lotor simply held onto his human lover, letting him get his emotions out as no one ever did for him when he was in Lance's shoes. Then the prince had an idea.

"How about we go for a ride hm?" he looks the paladin in the eyes, letting their foreheads touch.

"There's a planet with vast warm oceans where we could go for a swim, I could have Hunk pack us some food?" Lotor nuzzles Lance who blushes and thinks for a moment.

"Are you sure?" the paladin looks hesitant but not unwilling.

"Of course! Think of it as an early birthday present from me" the prince grins as he lets go of the paladin to radio Hunk and explain the situation.

"Grab your swimsuit and towel and meet me in the hanger in...what do humans call it? Half an hour?" Lance nods as he waves the prince off.

"Until then." he heads to his room to pack his things.

Once he had everything together Lance met Lotor in a smaller ship. Inside it seemed Hunk had them set for the whole day. Unknown to Lance Lotor found out about his birthday present and was asked to keep Lance busy today, which, the Prince eagerly agreed.

"Ready to go?" The prince asked looking almost excited.

"I guess, whoa, did Hunk think we were leaving for the day? There's even overnight bags."

"The other paladins have noticed you depression and have asked that I...err….show you a good time until your birthday~" he lied easily as he pulled the paladin into the ship to sit.

"Aw...Those guys…" Lance had to keep himself from tearing up again like a crybaby.

"You can thank them when we get back~" The prince didn't give him much time to think as he quickly readied for take off.

"Here we are" The prince smiled as they finished wormholing to the planet he'd found. There were lush jungles and deep, clear blue waters.

"Whoa! This almost looks like earth!" the paladin exclaimed as they landed.

"Ah yes, the Green Paladin noted that when I asked her about it. She said it was like the jungles of earth" Lotor smiled thankful his companion approved of his choice for a tiny vacation for the two.

The two spent the entire day exploring the jungles and swimming in the warm sea. Lotor was fascinated by Lance who seemed to be an excellent swimmer and diver. At one point they'd even found a cliff where Lance actually showed off his diving skills.

By nightfall the two had a tent set up on one of the smaller, uninhabited islands, where they'd have no fear of any creatures sneaking up on them.

Lance sighed as he gazed at the stars from the blanket he now shared with the galra tent came with a mesh top which they could see through.

"How are you feeling?" Lotor ventured to ask as they cuddled. Lance smiled sadly.

"Better, this was definitely a good distraction…"

"But you still miss them" Lance nodded. Lotor kissed the paladins forehead tenderly.

"I know, I'm glad I could distract you, even for a little while, but I know all too well that sometimes, the pain just...isn't that easy to get rid of" the prince smiled sadly in return.

"I would do anything to take this pain away from you" Lotor held his lover close. As the two men continued to snuggle with one another, sleep slowly set in, and the two drifted off in each other's arms.


	6. Happy Birthday Lance!

That night Lance had the most peaceful sleep he'd had in awhile. Which was strange considering he'd been depressed all week. He wasn't sure why but when he woke up he felt amazing. He looked over to see the galra prince sleeping not-so-gracefully next to him, drool even falling from his mouth a little.

So this is what he looks like when he's relaxed. Lance grinned as he moved to kiss the prince tenderly causing him to stir.

"aaaa….Not yet…" Lotor rolled over and covered his head with the blanket in defiance of waking up. Lance snickered softly and moved to spoon the space elf happily.

"It's fine, it's my birthday we can sleep in" the paladin yawned and nuzzled the prince's back. It took a few moments for certain memories to register with the prince before he shot up in a panic.

"WHAT TIME IS IT?"

Lance looked surprised by the prince before looking at his phone clock.

"Oh it's already noon." Lance yawned as Lotor sighed in relief.

"I thought it was later" the prince moved to spoon the paladin, wrapping his arms around him happily.

"We should start getting up but it IS your birthday so go at your own pace. I was asked to bring you back by at least 3pm though" the prince said nuzzling into his lover's neck.

"Why 3?"

"I'm sworn to secrecy" The prince started kissing the paladins neck effectively ending any coherent thought for the human instantly.

By the time they were done fooling around it was 2pm human time and Lotor was a little panicked to get everything packed. Lance had never seen the prince this way and unbeknownst to him Lotor was under threat to be back in time.

"Have him back here on time or I will make you regret it" Shiro had said and Lotor had taken that threat seriously. Even the Prince of the Galra Empire feared the wrath of Space Dad.

Once everything was packed and loaded both men returned to the front of the ship and readied for take off.

Back at the castle Shiro was watching his clock nervously as he help set the bridge up to look like a human room. Their device seemed to be ready to work and if all goes well they should be able to get a clear picture. He just hoped the package they'd sent with Coran and Keith got to Lance's family.

Speaking of Keith and Coran, the doors slid open and both men smiled victoriously.

"Packages delivered and set up, you'll be able to contact them soon. Where is Lance?" Keith asked as he handed a uniform to Shiro.

"Still with Lotor, though if that prince knows what's good for him he'll have him back soon." Shiro looked nervous and mildly annoyed as he went to change.

"We can only keep them on for a about an hour before we have to cut out so the Military on earth won't catch us." Pidge was about to call Lotor but as she peered out the window she noticed the wormhole and Lotor's ship.

"OH SHIT THEIR BACK!" Everyone froze for an instant before panicking only just slightly as they ran around finishing up the room and got ready for the most powerful skype call in history.

Once back at the castle Lance went to his room to shower and change per Pidge's request.

"What's got you all excited?" Lance looked at his sibling oddly as she pushed him down the hall.

"No time to explain, after Shiro gets done you'll only have an hour to talk to them before we have to cut out. You're on a secret mission and don't give too many details!" Lance was about to ask what she meant when they finally entered the bridge. All words caught in his throat as his mother's face showed up on the main display.

"As I said I apologize for not contacting you about your son sooner Ma'am, but he was under orders to remain quiet until we could establish a safe channel, you'll have an hour to talk before this channel cuts out automatically. I'm sorry." Shrio was decked out in Garrison uniform speaking to his mother whose eyes were just as warm as he remembered them.

"I'm just so happy he's ok, I was so worried about my baby boy" his mother had been brought to tears by the news about her son. Shiro looked over and smiled at Lance.

"Ok Ma'am, he's here." Shiro bowed himself out as Lance took the stage in front of his mom. All his emotions seemed to spill out as he tried to get any words out.

"Hi mom" Lance was trying so hard not to cry

"Mom I missed you"

"Oh my sweet baby boy! I missed you too! Oh my baby I thought I'd never see you again!" both mother and son were crying now, trying to catch up on a month's worth of conversation in an hour. Through tears and laughter he even got to see his sisters, his cousins, everyone had come down just for this skype call, the most powerful skype call in human history.

"Don't you go scaring us like that again!"  
"Yeah that's right!"

Some of his younger cousins scolded him having really missed him.

"I'm so proud of you Lance, I knew you'd do something great." His mother smiled warmly as the hour started to fade into minutes.

"I love you mom, I love you so much, as soon as I can I'll contact you again I promise!" Lance smiled after crying again.

"I love you too sweetheart, now that I know you're ok I'll sleep easier, I'll keep this thing ready for when we can talk again. Be safe sweetheart, stay out of trouble. I'm cheering for you here on earth!" his mom gave him a big grin and a thumbs up.

"Bye sweetie." she smiled warmly for her son.

"Bye mom" he smiled back, putting on a brave face before the feed finally cut out.

Lance fell to his knees, finally crying as hard as he could before the rest of the team and Lotor came in for a group hug.

"I love you guys, I love you so much," Lance choked out as each lover gave him lots of kisses.

"Happy Birthday Lance!" Hunk's voice broke through the hugs as he rolled in a blue cake with a tiny blue lion on the top, followed by Coran who wheeled in a cart filled with Lance's favorite foods.

"You guys...are the best...Thank you!" Lance grinned as he wiped his eyes. The lights dimmed and with the candles lit, they sang their blue paladin happy birthday.

Fin.


End file.
